Statement by Senator Dianne Feinstein

- on Efforts to Give the Gun Industry Special Liability Protections -

January 30, 2003
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"Let me be very clear: I strongly oppose any effort to give the gun industry special treatment at the expense of the many innocent Americans who have been harmed by the irresponsible actions of that industry.

While I do not support meritless lawsuits against the gun industry - or any other industry, for that matter - I am deeply troubled by evidence suggesting that the gun industry may be ignoring numerous patented safety devices for guns and intentionally flooding certain markets with guns, knowing full well that the excess weapons will find their way into the hands of criminals.

It is my belief that gun manufacturers should be held accountable for any irresponsible marketing and distribution practices in which they may be engaged, and which may allow guns to fall into the hands of criminals, juveniles, or the mentally ill.

One need only look at the craven advertisements that gun manufacturers have published over the last decade to see what I am talking about. Advertisements that tout the ability of certain firearms to resist fingerprints, for instance, are clearly targeted to criminals who do not want to be identified after committing a crime.

And after the 1994 assault weapons ban became law, it took no time at all for gun manufacturers to make cosmetic modifications to their dangerous products and advertise them as just as deadly, just as accurate, albeit modified to circumvent the ban.

This is an industry with a history of manufacturing cheap Saturday Night Specials, guns useful for just one purpose - hold-ups. These guns often explode in the shooter's hands, are not accurate beyond a few yards, and clearly have no sporting purpose. Those who manufactured these guns knew what they'd be used for.

This is an industry that constantly outdoes itself to advertise the most dangerous, most deadly, and most accurate killing machines it can, with no regard to whether these guns will fall into the wrong hands, or whether children will take them from their parent's drawers, bring them to school, and shoot and kill their teachers and classmates.

Not every business practice of the gun industry should be subject to suit, but granting immunity to this industry - and this industry alone - is completely nonsensical, particularly when one looks at how our gun laws make it difficult for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to perform any meaningful regulation of manufacturers or bad dealers. In many cases, it may well be that the threat of a lawsuit is the only thing keeping gun manufacturers even a little bit in check."

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